Covered Bridges on Two Wheels

The Fisher Railroad Bridge is one of only two covered railroad bridges left in the state (the other being the East Shoreham Railroad Bridge). There is actually one more Vermont covered railroad bridge in existence, but it was moved to Clark's Trading Post in New Hampshire in 1960. It had previously been in use in Barre, VT.

The Fisher Bridge is named for Christopher Fisher who owned land adjacent to the site. It has also been known as the Chubb or Chub Bridge for other nearby landowners.

The bridge was originally built in 1908 for the Boston & Maine Railroad by the Pratt Construction Company. They took the Town lattice design and modified it slightly, and also doubled it up for more strength yielding a "double Town-Pratt" truss. Over the years, the owning railroad changed hands and names, eventually ending up as the Lamoille Valley Railroad.

Freight service was discontinued, but the railroad was used as a tourist line into the mid 1990s when that too was discontinued due to low ridership (this area of Vermont is not exactly on the tourist beat). The tracks have been taken up along the rail line, and an effort is underway to convert the old railroad right-of-way into a recreational "rail trail" to eventually cross the entire state from Swanton in the west to St. Johnsbury in the east. The rails in the bridge itself still remain, however.

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In addition to the unique trusses, the bridge sports a nearly full-length cupola (or monitor) on the top. This was built to allow the smoke and steam of locomotives to vent out. The existence of the bridge was threatened in 1968 when it was proposed that it be replaced with a modern steel span. It was saved by modifying the abutments, adding a center pier mid-stream and placing steel beams underneath. The trusses have been disconnected from the floor so at this time the bridge only supports its own weight, while the steel beams support the floor... not there's any traffic to support anymore.

As well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the bridge is also a Vermont State Historic Site. 

Visiting the bridge:

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Finding the bridge is not difficult. It is situated just off Vermont Route 15 east of the village of Wolcott, in plain view. The state has built an access area for both the bridge and for fishing the river, so parking is not a problem. A little effort is required to climb up to the bridge from the dirt/gravel parking lot, but it is worth it to stand in and walk through this huge bridge.